Dance First - The Australian Ballet

The Australian Ballet

History

The roots of The Australian Ballet can be found in the Borovansky Ballet, a company founded in 1940 by the European dancer Edouard Borovansky. Borovansky had been a dancer in the touring ballet company of the famous Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova and, after visiting Australia on tour with the Covent Garden Russian Ballet, he decided to remain in Australia, establishing the countries' first ballet school, then later the Baronovsky Australian Ballet. Following his death in 1959, the running of the company was taken over by the English ballerina Dame Peggy van Praagh.

Peggy van Praagh had made her professional dance debut in 1933 with Britain's earliest ballet company The Ballet Club, which was founded by Dame Marie Rambert and was the predecessor of today's Rambert Dance Company. She later danced with The London Ballet run by Sir Anthony Tudor and in 1941, Dame Ninette de Valois offered her a contract as a dancer and teacher with the Sadler's Wells Ballet, the predecessor of today's Royal Ballet company. During this time she taught extensively throughout Europe, also staging and directing ballets in England, Canada, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway. After arriving in Australia, she directed the Borovansky Ballet for two years from 1960-1961.

In 1962, van Praagh dissolved the Borovansky Ballet, establishing a new company, today's Australian Ballet. She based the structure of the company on London's Royal Ballet, which was the most influential ballet company in the world at that time, however she mainly employed the former dancers of the Borovansky Ballet. The first performance by The Australian Ballet was staged at Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney and the company has since become recognised as Australia's national ballet company, building an international reputation. The Principal dancer's in The Australian Ballet's first season were Kathleen Gorham, Marilyn Jones and Garth Welch. Van Pragh was also successful in securing the services of the Royal Ballet's Ray Powell, who temporarily became the companies' first Ballet Master, with Leon Kellaway, a former dancer with the Covent Garden Russian Ballet, as the companies first ballet teacher. In 1967 to complete her aim of re-creating the structure of the Royal Ballet, van Praagh established the Australian Ballet School, which was formed specially to train dancers for the company and remain's the companies' associate school to this day.

Today

Today the company, is based in Melbourne and regularly tours to all the major cities within Australia, with lengthy seasons in Melbourne at the State Theatre and in Sydney at the Sydney Opera House. For only one week per year, The Australian Ballet performs at the Lyric Theatre at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre in Brisbane, and in Adelaide. The company also tours internationally.

The Australian Ballet works in close cooperation with the Australian Ballet School, of which many of the company’s dancers are graduates. Giving approximately 200 performances a year, The Australian Ballet is the busiest ballet company in the world. With a vast repertoire which includes the major classical and heritage works as well as contemporary productions, it follows its artistic vision of ‘Caring for Tradition, Daring to be Different’. Each year, the company also presents an extensive national education programme, run by Colin Peasley a former Principal Dancer with the company, to further inspire and educate its audiences.

Anna Pavlova in the Fokine/Saint-Saëns

The Dying Swan. Saint Petersburg, 1905.